A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Thursday, June 20, 1974, with a magnitude of 1.0592. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the view of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring about 1.4 days before perigee (on June 21, 1974, at 14:50 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
The path of totality passed over the Indian Ocean, Amsterdam Island, and Western Australia. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of the Malagasy Republic (today's Madagascar), Indonesia, Australia, and the southwestern coast of South Island, New Zealand.
Eclipse details Shown below are two tables displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. The first table outlines times at which the Moon's penumbra or umbra attains the specific parameter, and the second table describes various other parameters pertaining to this eclipse.
+June 20, 1974 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 1974 June 20 at 02:33:32.2 UTC First Umbral External Contact 1974 June 20 at 03:47:06.1 UTC First Central Line 1974 June 20 at 03:49:24.2 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 1974 June 20 at 03:51:46.3 UTC Greatest Duration 1974 June 20 at 04:47:57.2 UTC Greatest Eclipse 1974 June 20 at 04:48:04.4 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 1974 June 20 at 04:55:25.3 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 1974 June 20 at 04:56:24.3 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 1974 June 20 at 05:44:15.8 UTC Last Central Line 1974 June 20 at 05:46:39.4 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 1974 June 20 at 05:48:59.2 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 1974 June 20 at 07:02:30.3 UTC
+June 20, 1974 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 1.05919 Eclipse Obscuration 1.12189 Gamma −0.82388 Sun Right Ascension 05h53m26.3s Sun Declination +23°26'00.3" Sun Semi-Diameter 15'44.3" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.7" Moon Right Ascension 05h53m07.9s Moon Declination +22°36'22.0" Moon Semi-Diameter 16'30.9" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 1°00'36.8" ΔT 44.9 s
Eclipse season
This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two (or occasionally three) eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a fortnight.
+ Eclipse season of June 1974 June 4Ascending node (full moon) June 20Descending node (new moon) Partial lunar eclipseLunar Saros 120 Total solar eclipseSolar Saros 146
Related eclipses Eclipses in 1974 A partial lunar eclipse on June 4. A total solar eclipse on June 20. A total lunar eclipse on November 29. A partial solar eclipse on December 13.
Metonic Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 31, 1970 Followed by: Solar eclipse of April 7, 1978
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of May 9, 1967 Followed by: Solar eclipse of July 31, 1981
Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of June 14, 1965 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of June 25, 1983
Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of July 20, 1963 Followed by: Solar eclipse of May 19, 1985
Solar Saros 146 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of June 8, 1956 Followed by: Solar eclipse of June 30, 1992
Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of July 9, 1945 Followed by: Solar eclipse of May 31, 2003
Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 19, 1887 Followed by: Solar eclipse of April 20, 2061
Solar eclipses of 1971–1974
Saros 146
Metonic series
Tritos series
Inex series
References
External links